In telecommunications networks, signaling links carry signaling messages between signaling nodes. In modern telecommunications networks, the signaling links are separate from the media trunks used to carry media communications between end users. The signaling messages that traverse the signaling links include messages used to set up and tear down calls, database queries and responses, and network management messages.
Due to the vital function performed by signaling links in telecommunications networks, it is desirable to ensure that signaling links are available at all times to send and receive signaling message traffic. For example, a DSO link is capable of carrying data at 56 kilobits per second. 56 kilobits per second translates into 7,000 bytes per second. In order to ensure that a signaling link does not become congested, networks are typically engineered such that signaling links are 40% loaded. Using the DSO link as an example, this means that a DSO link is typically engineered to carry 40% of 7000 or 2800 bytes per second. Assuming an average message size of 40 bytes, a DSO signaling link engineered for 40% capacity can carry 70 messages per second.
While engineering signaling links for 40% or other capacity is a good practice, sudden bursts of signaling messages or network management messages may cause a link to become congested and temporarily unavailable to carry signaling message traffic. Since such a situation is undesirable, service providers use network monitoring systems to analyze signaling link utilization and determine causes of over-utilization of signaling links.
One problem with conventional network monitoring systems is that analyzing signaling link utilization requires a user to identify a signaling link that has become congested and to manually search through signaling message data to determine the cause of the signaling link congestion. For example, link utilization applications typically display link utilization information for a plurality of different signaling links on a single display screen. In order to diagnose a signaling link utilization problem, a user must manually identify the signaling link that caused the problem and the time period over which the problem occurred from the link utilization application. The user must then terminate the link utilization application and execute a protocol analysis application. Using the protocol analysis application, the user must input the parameters associated with the signaling link of interest and the time period and extract the corresponding messages from a signaling message database. Such a manual link utilization diagnosis process is labor-intensive and subject to user errors.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for automated analysis of signaling link utilization.